Discovery Laboratories Sees Mystery In Recent Stock Gyrations

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) shot up 20 percent Thursday on heavy volume for reasons that weren't clear.

The drug development company traded recently at $1.33, up 20.7 percent, on volume of 1.01 million shares. Average daily volume is 314,634 shares.

With a market capitalization of just $100 million, Discovery shares dove about 30 percent earlier this week on no news.

A Discovery spokesman told Benzinga the company didn't know what moved the shares recently, nor who was trading.

Even including recent gyrations, Discovery shares are off about 40 percent year-to-date. The company had an accumulated deficit of $480 million at the end of fiscal 2013 and sufficient cash to fund operations through the third quarter of 2015.

Deerfield Management Company, L.P and Broadfin Capital, each separately owned a bit less than 10 percent of Discovery, while DAFNA Capital Management held about 7 percent stake as of Discovery's latest proxy statement in March.

Fidelity Investments held a 14.2 percent stake.